parnass@ihu1h.UUCP (Bob Parnass, AJ9S) (05/21/85)
x > I was hoping to get the answer to this from the context of your > loggings, but no luck. What is a "bootlegger" in a 1985 context? (I > assume that these people are not making corn liquor out in the woods.) I use the term 'bootlegger' to describe someone who engages in 2-way radio conversations without being properly licensed for the frequency being used. This is distinguished from 'pirates', who are also unlicensed, but make one way broad- casts. Many bootleggers are radio hobbyists that can't (or haven't tried to) obtain an amateur radio license, and have migrated out of the Citizens Band. These people first started operating illegally just above the highest allocated CB channel, sometimes straying into the bottom of the 10 meter ham band (28.0 MHz). More recently, the most brazen have been heard in the 6.5 - 7.0 MHz range. I've been monitoring the same guys for a few days now. As I type, they've just started a conversation on 6.933 MHz LSB (lower sideband). Other bootleggers are drug smugglers. Many of their Spanish language conversations can be heard in the 14.4 - 14.6 MHz band during the day. We monitored this traffic, as well as the joint USN/USCG/DEA anti-smuggling operation, during lunch time from the radio club at work. There seems to be two categories of 'pirates': 1. clandestine radio stations that transmit for political purposes (e.g. anti-Castro Cuban exiles). 2. broadcasting phreaks that transmit entertainment (e.g. rock music, comedy, etc.) > Finally, can you recommend a source of information on the current line > of scanners available, the bands of interest, and the major services on > those bands? I guess what I am looking for would be an introduction to > scanners and a buyers guide rolled into one. I've searched local > bookstores without success, and hesitate to try mail order without a > recommendation. Although the newer shortwave receivers sometimes contain scanning circuits, people use the term "scanner" to loosely describe a class of radio that receives the VHF and UHF bands. The first part of this letter deals with stations one can hear on the HF (high frequency) bands, not on a scanner. Since you asked specifically about scanners, I'll assume that you know that HF bands are received by shortwave radios, not the typical scanner. Let me divide the answer into two parts: 1. A good introduction to scanning is Louis Smith's book "The Complete Action Guide to Scanners & Monitors", available for $10.95 from CRB Research1. I think this book is published by TAB, so you may be able to get it through a large book store. I've seen it in electron- ics stores and in the Bell Labs library. Smith's book is a few years old, so it doesn't discuss the latest model scanners, but gives you an explanation of the features of a typical scanner, and shows several older scanners. It also contains information on what types of stations may be found on which bands. 2. Latest equipment information is available from manufacturers: - Radio Shack - annual catalog - Regency Electronics - UNIDEN/Bearcat Scanner dealers offer good catalogs also: - Scanner World, USA (best catalog of scanners), 10 New Scotland Avenue, Albany, NY 12208. Tel: 1- 518-436-9609. - Grove Enterprises (good free catalog), 140 Dog Branch Road, PO Box 98, Brasstown, NC 28902. - Galaxy Electronics ($1 catalog), Box 1202, 67 Eber Avenue, Akron, OH 44309. Tel: 1-216-376- 2402. - Amateur Electronics Supply (catalog), 4828 W. Fond du Lac Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53216. Tel: 1-800-558-0411 There really is no "Consumer Reports" magazine of scanners, but sporadic equipment reviews are found in Grove's "Monitoring Times" magazine and the RCMA's "Newsletter". "Popular Communications" carries many scanner advertisements but doesn't carry objective product reviews to avoid upsetting their advertisers (but, they don't mind upsetting their readers). __________ 1. CRB Research, PO Box 56, Commack, NY 11725. -- =============================================================================== Bob Parnass, Bell Telephone Laboratories - ihnp4!ihu1h!parnass - (312)979-5414